


The Words In Between

by HeroSavesPeople



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Love, Middle-school WA, Romance, WA AU, Westallen AU, teen westallen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-08 20:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15937310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeroSavesPeople/pseuds/HeroSavesPeople
Summary: Set in the world of Speak of the Trapped.  Flashback: Fourteen-year-old Barry decides it's time to muster up the courage to finally ask Iris to be his girlfriend.(May include other outtakes)





	The Words In Between

**Author's Note:**

> I was supposed to be taking a break, but Aurora's comment about seeing a scene where Barry asks Iris out for the first time instantly inspired this. Thank you for the idea! Set in the world of Speak of the Trapped but does not relate to that plot. Thank you for reading that story and I hope you guys like this flashback scene!

"Ok, Barry, you can do this."

He looked at himself in the mirror in determination.  "Don't lose your cool. This is the love of your life, your best friend…you can do this."

It was the last day of their middle school years and Iris was heading to France for a couple of weeks.  Maybe it wasn't the most opportune time to ask her to be his girlfriend considering she was going to be gone soon after, but then again it may be the perfect time.  If the worst case happens and she rejects him, then at least he'll have those weeks to recover without having to worry about bumping into each other or catching sight of her through the window. 

His stomach churned nervously as he thought about their tin can telephone and the moments they'd wave at each other through their windows.  He hoped that never went away no matter what she did say and vowed that he would take her rejection like a man. He would still be her loyal friend in whatever capacity she wanted. 

He quickly brushed his hair with frantic movements and hitched his bag higher on his shoulder.  Walking out of the bathroom, he looked down the hallway toward Iris's locker. He took one look at her and did an about-face, walking the other direction to his locker with his heart thumping rapidly in his chest.  He could feel the heat creeping up on his neck, sweat forming on his upper lip that had little to do with the summer day. 

He was sure his body temperature went up a couple of degrees because suddenly the collar of his shirt felt like it was suffocating him.  He turned the corner and immediately bumped into the wall just in time for Cisco to catch his fall. 

"Whoa dude you alright?"

He looked up.  Cisco stood with his shoulders hunched under the weight of his heavy backpack that resembled a boulder on his back.  Barry was surprised his scrawny shoulders were capable of standing under the weight of the backpack, but he supposed he was one to talk. 

Cisco brushed his long hair out his face.  It was getting longer and it seemed that Cisco was dedicated to let it finally grow out.  His mother would always make him cut his hair because as she once said in Barry’s presence, "You can grow it out when you finally learn to take a shower."  He had to muffle his snickering behind a bowl of empanadas.

"You have to be told to take a shower?" 

Cisco had glared at him while gritting out, "Oh just you wait, Mama, it's going to be as long as Pocahontas."

It hadn't quite gotten so long, just making it to his ears, but it was enough for Cisco to have to push it behind his ears as he fixed Barry with a weird look.  Barry pulled his collar from his throat, feeling his skin burn hot there. 

"Duuude, you look as bright as the Red Skull right now.  What is up with you?" Cisco peaked around the corner and Barry could tell the moment he spotted Iris as realization dawned upon him.  "Ah, I see. Guess you haven't asked her out yet?"

Barry shook his head vigorously, pulling his water bottle out and guzzling it down, not even caring to wipe away the drops that dribbled down his chin.  Cisco looked at him with no small amount of pity. 

"Hey man, it's not that hard, you know?  I mean, yeah, you're not as smooth as Francisco here, but you can still do it.  Look how easy it was with Cynthia."

Barry caps his empty bottle and shakes his head, swiping his arm across his mouth.  "It's not the same," he said breathlessly. "You knew Cynthia liked you."

"Uh duh, you know Iris likes you.  You guys have been best friends since the first grade." 

"Yeah, but what if she doesn't like me back like that?"  Barry leaned against the cool wall behind him with a dramatic sigh. 

"Look, you'll never know unless you do it.  Just rip it off like a band-aid."

Barry turned to him with a bored look.  "It is so not like ripping off a band-aid.  Besides, I realize I can't just ask her out.  I have to show her, right? I have to show her how much I care?"

"What'd you have in mind?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug.  "Maybe something like a promposal the high school kids do?  Something big?"

"You're overthinking it, Bar, just ask if she wants to go to the movies.  You've had enough practice over the years now all you do is tack on a 'Like a date.' and bam, you've got a date."

"Nuh-uh, that's not enough," he said.  He tried to think of ways he could show Iris how much she meant to him.  Maybe he could rearrange the letters on the school board to write it out.  No, too public and it would put pressure on her to say yes and he didn’t want that.  Definitely something more private but still special. 

Suddenly an idea popped into his mind.  "I've got it," he said, turning to Cisco.  "Iris is staying late for the newspaper club's party, I'll surprise her when she gets home."

Cisco looked at him skeptically.  "Surprise? What are you going to do wait in her room and ambush her?"

"Hardy har-har," Barry said sarcastically.  He eyed Cisco's hair that he knew he's been taking good care of before reaching out and giving him a noogie.

"Hey man!"

Barry pulled away laughing, his stress momentarily forgotten.  "That's what you get for being of no help."

Cisco frantically straightened his hair, tossing a glare his way.  "Alls I'm saying is you need to up your game and don’t do anything creepy!  How is that unhelpful?"

Barry shook his head started walking away backward.  "Just make sure Iris doesn't come home any sooner," he said before turning away and trotting toward the buses.

"You owe me hair products!"

Once Barry got home, he whirled in a flash, kissing him mom's cheek before grabbing an empanada he knew she made from Ms. Ramon's recipe. 

"Mm, good job, mom!  This is good," he mumbled through a mouthful of meat and dough.  He dumped his backpack by the stairs before running upstairs. 

"Sweetheart, if you're going up there anyway, why don't you take your bag with you?" she called out exasperated. 

"Sorry mom!"

Once in his room, he dug in his closet for his hidden cash box and pulled out some money.  When he comes back downstairs he's stopped by him mom on his way out. 

"Whoa, Barry where are you going in such a rush?  You just got home."

He took a breath and faced his mom.  "I've decided to ask Iris to be my girlfriend."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, a happy smile spread across his mother's face.  "Oh honey, that's wonderful!” She came over and gave him a hard hug that he was certain squashed his lungs. 

"Mom," he said in a strained voice.

She let go and looked at him.  "Oh my baby's getting all big."

"Mom," he groaned, his cheeks flushing, shifting between one foot and the other.

"Are you going next door now?"

"I was thinking of getting her some flowers."

"Oh, I can't wait to tell your father about this."

"Mom," he said embarrassed.  "I don't even know if she's going to say yes."

She tapped him under his chin.  "There's nothing like a mother's intuition and I know she's going to say yes."

"But what if she doesn't."

"Then you'll still be the bestest of friends."

"And if we're not?"

His mom frowned at him.  "Well, I doubt that'll happen, but even so, you keep moving forward."  She said it so simply and it gave him a calm that he needed. “But Barry, trust me, she’s going to say yes.”   


"Thanks mom," he mumbled before dashing out of the house. 

He biked as fast as he could to the nearest flower shop, checking his watch all the while.  Time really flew when you needed it to slow down. He had about a half hour to get the flowers and back to set it up before Iris got home.

When he got to the flower shop he was not expecting to be as overwhelmed as he did in that moment.  There were hundred and hundreds of flowers it seemed of all kinds and colors. He must've looked so apparently lost that a young girl about twenty walked over to him. 

"Hi, can I help you with anything?"

He rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking around.  "Um, I'm trying to get some flowers for my friend, but I don't know what to get."

She smiled at him.  "Well, what are you trying to tell her?"

And with that question, Barry found himself biking back home, a large bundle of flowers sitting precariously on his lap.  When he got home, he went straight up, swiping his backpack along the way and headed toward the roof. 

He finished setting up the place just as he saw Iris walking toward her house from the bus stop.  He quickly hunched down and made his way back to his own room, waiting anxiously until Iris came into her room.  

He was folding up a note when he heard the tell-tale sound of his can rattling against the window.  He looked up and through the window saw Iris waving at him. He felt the ever-present butterflies in his stomach at the sight of her and returned her smile.  He folded up the paper and put it in the basket by the can before pulling on the pulley, watching as the note in the basket traveled across the way and toward Iris.  He could have easily spoken to her through the can, but words failed him as the nerves began to take over. 

_ I have to tell you something.  Will you come out on the roof? _

When she finished reading the note, she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue before smiling curiously _.  What is it?  _ she mouthed.

_ A surprise _ , he mouthed back before nodding to the side.  He carefully climbed out and she watched as he made his way over the tree and onto her roof.  He held out a hand to her and she took it gingerly, looking at him in confused amusement all the while. 

"What's going on, Bar?"

"Um follow me," he said shakily before clearing his throat.  

He lead her to the side of her house before presenting her in front of the heart  he created with the flowers. Small, solar-operated candles sat in between the flowers for when the sun went down. 

He kept his gaze away from her, too nervous to see her reaction, but he heard her gasp.  "Barry."

He took out the note from his pocket and swallowed thickly.  His voice cracked when he tried to speak. 

"Um-these are for you and um, I wrote you something too.  A letter."

He finally turned to look at her, his heart galloping in his chest, his throat feeling like it was closing up.  In that moment he was grateful he ended up writing the letter as a backup because there was no way he could utter a single word of what he was feeling in his heart, a word of what she made him feel. 

He held it out to her, still keeping his eyes averted.  It felt like an eternity before she took it in her hand, her fingers brushing against his. 

"Barry, what is all this?"

He finally looked at her then and there was something in her eyes that made him feel like his heart just might leap out of his chest.  There was that warmth that she always had when she was with him and maybe…hope? He had gotten good at reading Iris since they first met in the first grade and he could have sworn he saw hope there.  He knew he held that hope in his chest.

"It's-it's for you.  I um, I got you an assortment of flowers because…well, I was-I was trying to pick something that would tell you what I was feeling for you.  But then I realized that I was feeling a lot. When I'm with you, I feel everything."

She didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at him in wonder. 

"Everything I wanted to say to you is in that letter."

She looked away then and slowly opened the note as she walked over to the flower arrangement.  Sitting down in the middle of the heart he had created for her, she began to read. 

"'Dear Iris,'" she began softly and he clenched his eyes shut.  He wasn't anticipating her reading it out loud. 

"'You're my best friend in the whole world.  The day we met in first grade, I couldn't even think about the cooties I would get from you.  You were so bright like sunshine and I wanted the sun to be my friend. And you have been my best friend ever since.  I don't know how you feel about me, but in the last year, I realized that I really, really like you. A lot. I think I've always felt that way about you, but I didn’t realize it until the day you stayed with me when I threw up on the trip to the zoo.  You didn't look grossed out or run away, you just stayed and held my hand. And then afterwards, you gave me your crackers and water bottle even though I know it's your favorite and I got my vomit all of over it.'" 

She laughed and it was then that Barry opened his eyes.  He saw that sunshine smile on her face and felt his muscles relax.  He slowly made his way over to her, but she didn’t look up as she kept reading.

"'Next year, we're going to be in high school and it's going to be a different world, but I want to go into it with you by my side.  Will you be my girlfriend, Iris? Love Barry.'"

He sat down in front of her, watching her face as her eyes scanned over the words again, her fingertips resting on her bottom lip.

He felt his stomach turning, wondering anxiously what she was thinking.  Was it all too much? Did she hate it? Waiting for her to say something was possibly the longest wait of his life. 

"Iris, it's ok if you don't—"

"Yes."

"W-what?"

She looked up at him, her eyes glittering.  "Yes, Barry. I want to be your girlfriend."

And just like that, he felt like he could breathe again.  He scooted closer to her until their knees touched and he looked into her soft brown eyes.  "Really?" he asked softly. 

She beamed at him and nodded vigorously.  "Really, really. I thought you'd never ask."

He let out a relieved breath, smiling at her just as brightly. 

"That really is my favorite water bottle."

"Sorry, I still have it."

She shrugged.  "It's ok, I still have your whoopie cushion."

He felt so light in that moment and as the sun began to set, glancing off her hair, she looked so beautiful and he thought how he'd like to kiss her. 

Slowly, tentatively, he leaned in closer, his eyes on hers to see if it was ok.  He didn't know what to do or if he'd be any good at it, but he hoped she didn't mind.  He tilted his head to the side so that their noses wouldn't bump and watched as she closed her eyes, putting her trust in him, while his own flutter close. 

When their lips finally touch, he can scarcely breathe.  Her lavender scent is strong and fills his nose pleasantly. Her lips were soft and felt nice against his skin and he thinks he'd like to kiss her for the rest of his life. 

 

If Iris West was the only girl he ever kissed for the rest of forever, he’d live to be a happy man.

 


End file.
